Similar to our article on the guard positions used in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, here is a comprehensive list of all of the guard passes used in BJJ. Here, we have covered practically every pass that you can think of as well as a break-down. For the sake of clarity, there may be certain passes that have different names used elsewhere. We have also not included hybrid passes that come under the same umbrella or really obscure passes that are barely worth talking about. Having said this, this is the biggest list out there for practically every guard pass that you can think of and how it works.
If you are thinking about learning passes, it is equally as important to start combining passes together when you have learned them. Much like chaining guards and sweeps or submissions together, it is not ideal to only use one pass as it may become too predictable.
Stack pass / double unders – This involves grabbing the hips of your opponent and stacking their legs over their head. Using both your arms, the idea is to apply pressure and move their legs out the way to force your way past their hips.
Over/under pass – This is when your one arm hugs the opponent’s leg and your other arm and legs wrap around their other leg. Whilst placing your head over the opponent’s far leg, the idea is to move their leg out the way and then move past it to gain side control.
Sao Paulo pass – The Sao Paulo pass is done from inside the closed guard of your opponent. Grabbing an underhook on their one arm, you then hug their opposite hips and start pressuring your way past their legs. As a warning, this is a very specific pass that can take years to master and is not for newcomers.
Knee slice – The knee slice is often done against half guard. After securing the far underhook to prevent your back from being taken, you can then slice your knee past their leg onto the mat and then force your way forwards into side control. If the opponent traps your leg whilst slicing, you can kick if off with your other foot.
Cradle pass – This involves grabbing your opponent in a wrestling cradle from the front headlock. From here you can sprawl out and put your head into their ribs to open the legs of the opponent. Once this is done, you can opt to go to north south or walk around their legs into side control.
Toreando – Also known as the bullfighter pass, this is done from the open guard. The idea is to grab your opponent’s pants or knees and hip in nogi and then move them to the side whilst stepping out. This pushes the legs out the way so you can move towards the upper body.
Backstep pass – The backstep can be done from several positions, it involves doing a big backstep around the body of your opponent. From here, you can crossface your opponent and snake upwards to free your leg. At this point, you will end up in side control.
Hip switch – Often done from top half guard, this can be done by switching your base and sitting on your hip. You can control the opponent’s head with a crossface or grab a kimura grip. Placing your knee on their hip, you can then snake upwards to secure the pass.
Sprawl pass – After grabbing above the knees of the opponent, you can then sprawl outwards to start passing. Keeping your opponent’s legs tight together, you can then pick a side and move towards their upper body. This eventually involves stopping their arms from framing to escape.
Folding pass – This involves crushing down the leg of your opponent and pinning their hips to the floor and between your body. By doing this you will immobilize their legs and can choose to go to mount or side control dependent on the reaction of the opponent.
Leg drag – Done from open guard, the leg drag is when you literally drag the leg of your opponent across your body. After this, you can crouch down onto the leg to keep it pinned so your opponent cannot escape. You can then circle around towards the upper body to finish the pass.
X-pass – This is a variation of the toreando pass but instead of using traditional grips, your opposite hands grab the opponent’s opposite legs which resembles an ‘X’. This is a powerful pass that controls the legs to get towards the upper body.
Body lock pass – To body lock, you need to get double under hooks above your opponent’s hips which is often done in butterfly or half guard. You can then use your head to create pressure and pin the opponent whilst sprawling your legs to get around the low part of the opponent’s body.
Floating pass – Often done in no gi, this is done by putting both hands above the head of your opponent. You then ‘float’ your legs on the legs of the opponent which makes your weight travel towards your upper body. At this point, you can move your legs with ease to fall into side control or mount dependent on your goal.
Cartwheel pass – An athletic way of passing the guard, you can literally cartwheel over the body of the opponent whilst in open guard. If quick enough, you can end up behind your opponent and bypass their legs to get to the body.
Rolling Kimura – If you grab a Kimura grip on your opponent and then do a forwards roll, you can end up behind your opponent and come into side control or take the back. Here you can keep the grip to start attacking submissions if wanted.
Leg weave – This is done by punching in between the leg of the opponent. Often done from top half guard, the idea is to separate the legs of your opponent and then move behind the opponent’s leg. In doing this, you can chose to go around the guard, rather than typically going through it.
Crab rides / ninja hooks / berimbolo’s – Whilst these are moves that can also be hit from the bottom position, they involve inverting or rolling forwards to pass the guard of the opponent. This often results in taking the back or getting side control. Please note, all three are separate moves and all require a decent amount of skill and knowledge to hit properly during sparring.
The stepout pass – This is a cross between a knee cut and toreando pass. From top half guard, you squat, retreat backward a little and pin your opponent’s chest down with a stiff arm. Next, you kick your leg back to break through the opponent’s crossed feet whilst pushing their knee forwards with your other hand on their knee. From here you step forwards and past their hips.
The leg pin – This involves pinning the leg of the opponent to the floor and then stamping on the ankle with your leg. Next, you want to grab the other leg and circle round towards the back. You can also do this against spider guard if you manage to break the original grips.
